Appel Focused on Healing and Looking to 2011

Jayne Appel’s WNBA career got off on the wrong foot. Literally. After suffering a stress fracture in her cuboid bone and a third-degree ankle sprain in her right foot during the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Appel’s transition into the league would be slow and steady rather than rushed, for fear that re-aggravating the injury would sideline her for even longer periods of time.

Appel made her debut after missing the first three games of the season on May 28 against the Liberty, tallying just three minutes on the hardwood and registering one assist in a 77-71 loss. It wasn’t until the next game on May 30 against the Storm that Appel cracked the goose egg in a few other stats as well: two points on 1-of-2 shooting and five rebounds over the span of 14 minutes.

“The coaching staff in San Antonio was tremendous,” Appel said in a recent phone interview with WNBA.com. “They allowed me to take my time and allowed me to focus on my body and pay really good attention to it,” she said, adding that the staff’s belief in a slow-and-steady approach allowed her to catch up to the style of play in the league.

Continued at WNBA.com.